Party-poopers sent packing as hosts finally come good

Advance Australia fair. After months of uninspired performances, navel gazing, critical self-analysis and bickering with their own media, Australia finally blew away the cobwebs and dismissed the mental gremlins to storm into Saturday's World Cup final against England.

This stunning performance over a shell-shocked New Zealand team finally convinced a nation, and the golden ranks of Wallaby supporters, that their side can become the first team to retain the World Cup. They are already, the first champions to reach the next final.

Australia's lap of honour at the Telstra Dome may have been a little premature, but it was much more a gesture of relief rather than triumphalism, a thank you to the supporters for not giving up on them. It was certainly the noisiest Australian crowd in history and it will need more of the same next week if the Wallabies are to prosper against an England team with even bigger support.

In one way, pinpointing the reasons for their massively improved performance is easy. Everybody performed on the night, in a way in which they had singularly failed to do against Argentina, Ireland and Scotland - the Wallabies three previous matches of consequence in the tournament.

Stirling Mortlock, who spent the early part of the tournament on the bench after recovering from a shoulder reconstruction, produced an astounding performance in the Wallaby midfield to test the All Black defence to the limit.

Mortlock, deceptively strong and quick, will forever be remembered for his 80-yard interception try, but his greatest contribution was the remorseless in-roads he made into the New Zealand territory. If Mortlock was the bludgeon, Steve Larkham was the rapier. He knows his opposite number, Carlos Spencer, thought by some to be suspect in defence, of old and suckered him beautifully.

Initially Larkham fired out a succession of crisp long passes as the Wallabies played high-quality continuity rugby and then, with Spencer beginning to drift across field, he unleashed the pace and nose for a break reminiscent of his meteoric teenage years to cut the All Blacks in two. Larkham's single mistake, a turnover just before half-time, did lead to New Zealand's try but after the break he carried on as before, refusing to be derailed mentally.

Mortlock and Larkham were the stand-outs but others rose superbly to the occasion. Lock Justin Harrison had his biggest line-out game since he cleaned out the Lions on his debut in 2001, while David Lyons enjoyed a big ball-carrying evening. Elton Flatley kicked his goals, George Gregan was back to his sharpest behind that pack and the former rugby league trio of Mat Rogers, Wendell Sailor and Lote Tuqiri repaid large chunks of the considerable sum invested in them.

You could see from the emotion on the normally inscrutable face of Gregan during the anthems that something was afoot. Somebody had lit the Australian touchpaper. It might be nothing more complicated than the motivational effect of drinking in the Last Chance Saloon, or simply the sight of those cursed All Black shirts. Sensitive souls that they are, the sudden tide change in midweek when the unforgiving Australian media finally decided to back their team might also have changed the mood.

But there was science involved as well. Wales had shown the way against New Zealand two weeks ago with their clever, high-speed, man-on-man approach at this same venue. Confront and expose. Scott Johnson, Steve Hansen's Australian assistant at Wales, was at the heart of that policy decision and was in touch with Australia's coach, Eddie Jones, for much of last week.

As for New Zealand, they looked uninspired and cowed. This is the fourth time in five World Cups they have lost the game that mattered. And even in the first World Cup everything was stacked in their favour - home advantage and essentially a professional team in a supposedly amateur era when most of the opposing teams were combining rugby with a holiday.

Coach John Mitchell and the NZRFU have to examine their methods because they still have the biggest pool of international-class players in the world and should win their fair share of titles. The harsh truth is that they have become huge underachievers.

They glory in the mythology and mystique of the All Blacks - which serves them so well financially - yet get all precious when the pressure comes on. They are the biggest drawcard in world rugby yet they refused to join the 2003 World Cup party.

While everybody, including the much-maligned England, travelled the nation, moved to the various venues, met the people and dealt with every reasonable request, New Zealand chose to base themselves in Melbourne - the non-rugby playing capital of Victoria - flying in and out of town for every match. The Rugby World Cup is the biggest party in the world and the All Blacks did not even bring a bottle opener.

Mitchell was surly and dismissive at press conferences and key players were suddenly kept under wraps just when the rugby world wanted to pay homage and hear their every word.

You have to be very good indeed to adopt such an arrogant approach. Indeed the only partial justification is if you win the tournament. New Zealand did not and they will get all the solitude they want at their anonymous Melbourne base this week ahead of Thursday's third-place play-off against France. Frankly, just for a couple of days, we do not want to talk to them.